El Teatro Baralt (English: The Baralt Theatre) is a theatre in downtown Maracaibo, Venezuela, at the northwestern corner of the historic Plaza Bolívar. The first theatre at the site was built in the mid 19th century as a small performance hall, with subsequent theatre buildings there having seen many different reconstructions. A major Venezuelan cultural institution, the theatre received a National Monument designation in 1981, recognizing its location as the site of the first film screenings in the country and as a longstanding part of the historic center of Maracaibo. Construction history Early theatre The first request to build a theatre was submitted to the Court of Spain by José Domingo Rus in 1811, but this was not approved. The first theatre began construction in 1839. The land it was built on was donated for this purpose by Don Miguel Antonio Baralt, who had inherited it from his father, the patriarch of the influential Baralt family in Venezuela (Miguel's son was Rafael María Baralt). Don Miguel often leased his land at the intersection of Urdaneta and Venezuela streets, where the theatre still stands, for performances; a temporary stage was constructed at the site before he donated it to the city. The land had become colloquially known as "el Teatro de Baralt" (Baralt's theatre) from the early 1800s. The construction project soon received help from the workers' union and, on 5 December 1845, from the state when 3,000 pesos were allotted to "build a more permanent structure within the property of Don Miguel". This building was also known as Teatro de Baralt and was in use between the 1840s and 1877, at which point it was demolished to be replaced by a full theatre building. Reconstructions The President of the State of Zulia, Rafael Parra, signed off on the demolition and rebuild of the theatre on 28 July 1877; he laid the first stone of the new building in a ceremony on 7 October 1877. The new theatre was neoclassical, designed by Manuel de Obando, and inaugurated on 24 July 1883; the inauguration was combined with traditional festivities for the birthday of Simón Bolívar. This theatre was named Teatro Baralt, to honor the whole family. Notably, the debut of the theatre featured a national play, a rarity in Latin America; a competition was held to choose a play, and seven writers submitted entries in two categories. In the prose category, three